This and That and Sumpthin' Else.

The weekend. It was different than my usual. I’ll start with Friday.

Friday afternoon, my friend Gail arrived with a rental truck and all her belongings. She is, finally, moving to this area. I’ve been trying to convince her to do this for months now. Her previous home was less than welcoming to her, so much so that she never unpacked most of her belongings. I managed to round up three people and myself from here, and her brother and nephew from Alamogordo were here to help. We did a smashing job; it was unloaded in about two or two and a half hours, secure in a self-storage unit in Ruidoso. She spent the weekend with her brother and SIL, then applied today she applied for some jobs today. She will be back here tomorrow, and she will probably stay with me a few days, continuing to look for a job and a home. A stroke of luck is that one of the “helpers” on Friday has a home he is planning to sell, so she is going to talk with him and see if it is anything she might be interested in.

Saturday was a relatively unremarkable day, except that I got started on the (hopefully) final stages of clearing the deck. I worked for several hours, mostly organizing and compacting what was there. I went into the Gallery and worked a few hours after that. The owner was taking off for a few days of road trip with his son, and all the other employees were planning for a day with their fathers on Sunday, so......

I worked all day Sunday by myself. There were lots of lookers, but not many buyers, and the last couple hours were b.o.r.i.n.g. The door didn’t even open! I got a lot of the computerized organization done through the day, and that felt good. And I was happy to allow everyone else have Father’s Day with their families.

I took off most of this week so I could concentrate on finishing the unpacking. I just can’t stand much more of this! Today was amazing in what I got done. The large items are all lined up along the railing, with a huge tarp under them and wrapped up and over to protect them from rain. I got out the big folding banquet table. Tomorrow I will set it up and begin putting kitchen items for the garage sale on it. In the next couple days, I’ll bet a couple sheets of plywood, have them split so I have 2’ X 8” tables on top of sawhorse legs and begin putting other things out on them. Hopefully I can consider the garage sale beginning around the middle of July.

I got a lot accomplished today, and it felt so good! I’m beginning to see the deck without cringing. I don’t look forward to the process of pricing everything and then having the garage sale. I’ve never liked doing garage sales. My late husband did, and I was happy to let him do it. But it will be good to have it done. Once and for all.

A few pictures, just for the fun of it!

First, just some pretty little wildflowers.














And then, I thought I’d show the road to my house.














And looking at the road toward the highway. Yeah, it is a long, dusty road.














Here is the hill I live on.














And there is my house!














A closer look at the house from across the valley.












And look at this little bugger that I caught up in the bird feeder! Climbed right up the handle of a paint roller handle and it was just a short jump to the feeder!















I finally got a picture of Ali in the basket .....




This one says, “Uh-oh, Mom’s home.”













“Mom, quit it!!”














“You’re not mad, are you, huh, Mom?”














“Hey, I’m really cute, huh? Yeah, too cute to be angry at me!”
















“OK, that’s enough! I can’t stand it!! Turn it off!”










I’m getting really worried about Ali. He is acting more and more confused and unstable. I can not leave him at home now; he chews up any cardboard box he can get his teeth on. It is just a matter of time until he starts chewing on important things. Well, in fact, he chewed a little bit of the basket already, so I now keep it covered when I go out. When I’m home, or when I take him/them with me, he won’t let me out of his sight. I can’t even go out on the deck to work without taking him now, yet he doesn’t want to be there in the heat and the noise. He does better out there, but he isn’t “normal.” He acts as if he is terrified all the time, and at times, I put him on a leash, snap the leash to my belt loop and go about my business. It helps him, I suppose feeling connected to me, but it surely slows me down. I thought that the senility was improving for a while, but now, he is regressing it seems. He rarely brings me a toy to throw now. His eating is irregular. He seems to be physically functioning alright, but I’m worried that his days are somewhat numbered. I’m so sad, thinking that I’m going to lose another of my babies. I may be wrong, but I just can imagine that he will be much longer like this. I guess it is time to call and talk with the vet again about this so I know if my guess is right.

So life goes on with some sadness and some joy. That’s what life is all about. We don’t get to pick and chose about everything, and we don’t always get what we want (after all, our dear pets should live exactly as long as we do). But everything always managed to balance out, doesn’t it? I’m tired tonight, and I think that makes me more melancholy than usual. In spite of that,

Life is beautiful, isn’t it?